Actor Michael Douglas, who was diagnosed with throat cancer three weeks ago, says the cancer is at Stage IV. And from all indications, he appears to have a tough battle ahead of him.
You dont want to be at Stage IV, Douglas told David Letterman during an appearance Tuesday on the Late Show. Youd rather be down at Stage 1.
But the actor said hes optimistic, telling People magazine, Ill beat this.
Douglas, 65, told Letterman hed just finished his first week of radiation and chemotherapy, and that his treatment would last eight weeks. When Letterman told Douglas that he looked and sounded good, the actor said that as the treatment progressed, hed be less able to speak and swallow. Already, he said, hed been knocked down hard by the first week of treatment.
The diagnosis came, Douglas said, after he and his wife, Catherine Zeta-Jones, spent a wonderful summer in Spain with their two children: Dylan, 10; and Carys, 7. Although hed been to a litany of doctors before the vacation because of a persistent sore throat, Douglas said, none found anything wrong until after the family returned to the U.S. (Smoking is a risk factor for throat cancer; until two years ago, Douglas was a smoker.)
The actors latest movie, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, is set to open later this month. But Douglas told Letterman he wouldnt be able to promote the movie abroad.
Asked about his statistical chances of beating the illness, Douglas said, The percentages are very good ... right now, it looks like it should be 80 percent.
Read more about Michael Douglas' throat cancer here.
